Wednesday, June 30, 2010

And it's one - two - three strikes you're out...

Long before the days of giant theme parks, the US had many amusement parks where families gathered for a cool escape on a hot summer day. GREAT OLD AMUSEMENT PARKS celebrates these pre-Disney parks, where vacationers can still reach for the brass ring on the merry-go-round. The special also checks out some old wooden roller coasters and other classic rides...
Great Old Amusement Parks...7pm

The fifth "inning" of Ken Burns's film BASEBALL looks at baseball's desperate attempts to survive the Great Depression and Babe Ruth's fading career, while a new generation of stars, including Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams, is on the rise. It ends with the greatest showdown in the history of the Negro Leagues: Satchel Paige, arguably the best pitcher ever, against Josh Gibson, "the black Babe Ruth," in the Negro League World Series...8pm

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Tonight on Face to Face we revisit Jeremy Everett, who heads up a group devoted to solving the hunger problem in our communities on the local level, through better management of resources. Mr. Everett presents a very compelling case for working together, and puts a different face on the phrase "community organizer"...8pm

This episode of Face to Face ends the season...but don't worry, it returns in the fall. We're trying out a fun summer replacement show called "Daytripper", featuring interesting travel destinations with a Texan point of view...that's premiering next Tuesday at 8pm.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall...

THE WALL - A WORLD DIVIDED tells that story from the unique perspectives of three world leaders -- Helmut Kohl, then Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mikhail Gorbachev, then General Secretary of the Soviet Union, and George H.W. Bush, then President of the United States. They were at the epicenter of that remarkable series of events, when the face of Europe changed almost overnight. In this documentary they tell the story of how history unfolded. A brief history of the Wall -- why it was built and why it remained standing -- segues into personal accounts that bring alive the reality of what the Wall meant to Berliners day-in and day-out for so many years...9pm

Friday, June 25, 2010

Sins of the father...

Highlights for this weekend include Sarah McLachlan and Duffy performing on Austin City Limits, and the season premiere of POV with William Kuntsler: Disturbing the Universe...
William Kunstler's two daughters from his second marriage grew up lionizing a man already famous for his historic civil rights and anti-war cases. Then, in their teens, they began to be disillusioned by a stubborn man who continued representing some of the most reviled defendants in America -- this time accused rapists and terrorists. In this intimate biography, Emily and Sarah Kunstler seek to recover the real story of what made their late father one of the most beloved, and hated, lawyers in America...Saturday at 11pm

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Don't pass the baby oil...

Tonight, we offer something for your health...
MORE THAT SKIN DEEP examines not only the medical and scientific aspects of skin cancer, but its cultural, historical and social aspects as well. The film reveals how the tanning craze was accidentally popularized by Coco Chanel, how pioneering medical trials for melanoma may revolutionize cancer treatments and how human skin color evolved as a survival response.
In the blistering heat of summer, a timely message...MORE THAN SKIN DEEP...8pm

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

From one end of the musical scale to the other...

Craig Ferguson hosts this star-studded 125th anniversary celebration of the Boston Pops, with interviews and/or performances by Kristin Chenoweth, Josh Groban, James Taylor, Vanessa Williams, Yo-Yo Ma, Wynton Marsalis, and Roberta Flack...America's Orchestra...7pm

"Harp Dreams" follows several contestants from Russia, France, Switzerland, Japan and the United States, as they hone their skills to compete for the grand prize: a performance and recording career and a one-of-a-kind concert harp...8pm

TUBA U: BASSO PROFUNDO follows an unusual 22-piece musical ensemble into the recording studio, across the U.S. and onto the stage of renowned Carnegie Hall. Everything you've ever wanted to know about tubas...and then some...9:30

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

I did it my way...

Cuttlefish are one of the strangest animals on our planet. These shape-shifting creatures can hypnotize their prey, impersonate the opposite sex and even kill with lightening fast speed. With beautiful underwater footage and in-depth expert interviews, NOVA gets up close and personal with these bizarre and amazing animals...7pm

Face to Face with Annika Johansson...on the way to broadway...8pm

Do we have the right to end our lives if life itself becomes unbearable, or when we enter the late stages of painful, terminal illness? Academy Award-winning filmmaker John Zaritsky offers a revealing look at a couple facing the most difficult decision of their lives -- and lets us see for ourselves as one Chicago native makes the trip to Switzerland for what will become the last day of his life...The Suicide Tourist on Frontline...9pm

Monday, June 21, 2010

Houston...we've got a problem...

Find out what one of the puppets from the stop-motion animation classic "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" is worth as ANTIQUES ROADSHOW broadcasts from Providence R.I...7pm

The HISTORY DETECTIVES season premiere launches into space for an exhilarating hour exploring the excitement, promise and ingenuity that fueled America's foray into space exploration. In the segment "Moon Museum," Gwendolyn Wright investigates the audacious notion that Andy Warhol's art may be on the moon. And then, in the "Space Boot" segment, Elyse Luray tries on a jury-rigged ski boot with a magnetic metal brick bolted to the bottom that may be one of the first prototypes for a NASA space boot...8pm

UNFORGETTABLE: THE KOREAN WAR recalls the "un-won" war that never ended...no one even wanted to call it a war: it was "the Korean conflict" or a "police action." Finally, it was called the Forgotten War. No matter the name, the Korean War killed tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers and affected many more lives at home...9pm

Friday, June 18, 2010

Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief...

Quiet weekend...Need to Know and European Journal on Friday, Welk and Classic Gospel on Saturday...then after Austin City Limits, a very interesting documentary...

THE NEW RECRUITS is a documentary about a battalion of jet-setting business students armed with a radical plan to end global poverty: charge poor people for goods and services. Bill Gates calls it "creative capitalism." At the core of THE NEW RECRUITS are three young, well-meaning, a little in-over- their-heads aspiring social entrepreneurs. Heidi Krauel, Joel Montgomery and Suraj Sudhakar are selected out of thousands to participate in the prestigious year-long Acumen Fund Fellows Program. The program sends 10 business students to work with Acumen-funded social enterprises in Kenya, India and Pakistan...11pm

Sunday ends with Miss Marple in Masterpiece Mystery, and Alan Alda hosting Scientific American Frontiers and examining surgical weight loss techniques...9pm

Thursday, June 17, 2010

What keeps the Irish eyes a-smiling...

KACV presents a special program tonight, with performances by the amazing Irish group The Chieftains, Van Morrison and others. A must-see for music fans, Music of Ireland - Welcome Home explores the impact of Irish music in America and the world...8pm

Globe Trekkers' Ian visits Kathmandu, capital city of Nepal, then continues to other interesting spots in the country...9pm

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Oil and water don't mix...

Tonight President Obama addresses the nation about the ongoing oil leak crisis, then NOVA expands on the theme when it explores the effects of pollutants on sea lions through the exploits of Dr. Frances Gulland, a San Francisco veterinarian, and her team, who run the equivalent of a West Coast ER for marine mammals. On a typical day listless sea lions flop on their sides, too exhausted to lift their heads. Others are agitated. Another chews obsessively on a flipper. They are all victims of a marine neurotoxin made by an organism that feeds on algae...7pm

Face to Face features an interview with Lilia Escajeda...8pm

In a new investigation FRONTLINE goes behind closed doors at the White House, in Congress and the boardrooms of the giant health-care lobby to examine the political battles and costly compromises in Barack Obama's endeavor to overhaul the country's healthcare system...9pm

Monday, June 14, 2010

The beginning of the Democrat Party...

Antiques Roadshow is still in Orlando finding the treasures...7pm

Then we get serious...Andrew Jackson: Good, Evil and the Presidency , narrated by Martin Sheen, examines the complicated actions of our seventh president. The film concludes with the words of Jackson's first biographer, James Parton: "Andrew Jackson was a patriot, and a traitor. He was the greatest of generals, and wholly ignorant of the art of war. He was the most candid of men, and capable of the profoundest dissimulation. He was a democratic autocrat, an urbane savage, an atrocious saint." Sure to be an eye opener...8pm

Friday, June 11, 2010

TGIF...

It's Friday folks...it's finally Friday.

Saturday night on Independent Lens...Water Flowing Together...
Jock Soto, who is Navajo Indian and Puerto Rican as well as gay, retired in June 2005 from the New York City Ballet after a 24-year career; this story climaxes with his emotional retirement at age 40. This is not a film solely for a ballet audience; it is also an exploration of identity, heritage, transition and family...11pm

Sunday we continue our series about where our food comes from; America's Heartland...5pm

Sunday night Masterpiece Mystery is back with Miss Marple Series IV: Murder is Easy...8pm

Thursday, June 10, 2010

La Bamba in East L.A....

Tonight we've got a special treat...Chicano Rock! The Sounds of East Los Angeles...narrated by Edward James Olmos, this documentary tells the story of generations of young Mexican-Americans who proudly expressed their identity through music...the program is filled with intimate first-person storytelling, rare film and photos, and exuberant music from artists such as Lalo Guerrero, the Father of Chicano Music; the legendary Ritchie Valens; and classic bands such as Cannibal and the Headhunters, who toured with the Beatles, Thee Midniters of "Whittier Blvd." fame, El Chicano, Tierra and perhaps the greatest of them all, Los Lobos...8pm

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Not as easy as it looks...

The Pursuit of Excellence series of documentaries has focused on several very eclectic subjects with exceptional wit and intelligence...tonight we look at Ohio's annual Ferret Buckeye Bash, the largest and most popular ferret show in the country.
Hundreds of top breeders, seasoned experts and ferret enthusiasts pamper and parade their pets in a quest for prizes and prestige...7pm

The U.S. Open is the climactic final event of the U.S. synchronized swimming season. This program follows two teams of ambitious and athletic girls -- and one very determined teenage boy -- through their intense training and team bonding until they meet in a spectacular display of churning water and synchronous limbs. For these future Olympians, the perfect make-up, the colorful costumes and those permanent smiles mask the fierce competitive spirit each needs to win...Synchonized Swimming: The Pursuit of Excellence...8pm

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Life is good on the "intra-web"...

Tonight, Nova shows heart in telling the story of women in Ethiopia afflicted with a child bearing problem and neglected and ostracized by their communities...NOVA follows these women on their journey to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, where they find health and solace for the first time in years. The dignity of their struggle connects viewers to the plight of countless women in the developing world who face daily challenges from malnutrition, child marriage and lack of obstetric care...Walk to Beautiful...7pm

Face to Face continues the medical thread as Ellen Green interviews Dr. Jodi Wilkinson of Texas Tech Medical School, and his more than 20 years of research into diabetes and obesity...8pm

MySpace. YouTube. Facebook. Friendster. Nearly every teen in America is on the Internet every day. FRONTLINE peers inside the world of this cyber-savvy generation through the eyes of teens and their parents, who often find themselves on opposite sides of a new digital divide.
Growing Up Online...9pm

Friday, June 4, 2010

Taxi to the dark side...

Lawrence Welk and Classic Gospel lead into Are You Being Served on Saturday, ending with Independent Lens "Goodbye Solo"...Solo is a Senegalese cab driver working to provide a better life for his young family. William is a tough Southern "good ol' boy" with a lifetime of regrets. One man's American dream is just beginning, while the other's is quickly winding down. But despite their differences, both men soon realize they need each other more than either is willing to admit. Through this unlikely but unforgettable friendship, "Goodbye Solo" deftly explores the passing of a generation as well as the rapidly changing face of America...11pm

And on Sunday, AMERICA'S HEARTLAND celebrates the men and women across the nation who grow the country's crops, raise its livestock, tend its nurseries and prepare its food. AMERICA'S HEARTLAND taps into the national fascination with food and curiosity about unfamiliar places and ways of life, while also exploring the American values of family, hard work and the spirit of independence...5pm

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Did you know you could drink that?

This Old House is still at it, episode 9 of the current project...and host Kevin O'Connor is making, and drinking, "compost tea"...yum!...7pm

Considered by many to have "Gershwin in his blood...", pianist Richard Glazier takes us on a musical journey through the Gershwin songbook, through performance and backstage stories about George, Ira, and Judy. Watch for a stunning performance of Rhapsody in Blue...8pm

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Thank them for the lemon tree...

After the Pearl Harbor attack, Nebraska farmer Ben Kuroki volunteered for the U.S. Army Air Corps. He would become the first Japanese-American war hero, surviving 58 missions as an aerial gunner over Europe, North Africa and Japan. Between tours of duty he found himself at the center of controversy - a lone spokesman against the racism faced by the thousands of Japanese Americans who were sent to internment camps. Through interviews and rare, never-before-seen film, MOST HONORABLE SON recounts one man's remarkable journey through World War II, providing context to two seemingly disparate histories - the U.S. air war and the Japanese-American experience...7pm

Did you know that the lemon tree, the water wheel and Aristotle's lost philosophy all arrived in Europe through Islamic Spain, as did algebra and the beginnings of modern medicine, science and poetry...the very roots of the European Renaissance. What happened to the fragile union of Muslims, Christians and Jews? Take a trip back through time with Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain...8pm

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

I've got the music in me...

Can't get that tune out of your head? Tonight Nova examines the extraordinary influence of music on the human brain, and the effects it has on our lives...7pm

Author Walt Davis is the guest with Ellen Green on Face to Face...he discusses his new book "Exploring the Edges of Texas"...8pm

And Frontline presents "My Father, My Brother, and Me"...the story of a journalist who has gotten the same news as his dad and brother - he has the disease...9pm